http://ift.tt/2lpBasY
Mastercard to bring Qkr! payments app to the U.S. and five other countries http://ift.tt/2lLIfFh Mastercard’s mobile payment service Qkr! is coming to the U.S. as well as a handful of other countries, and the company’s new partnership with Oracle will help make the experience even more simple. Qkr! is an iOS and Android app that uses Masterpass, Mastercard’s digital payment service, to allow users to pay at select restaurants, cinemas, schools, and more. It’s not a tap-and-pay service like Apple Pay and Android Pay, and it requires the merchant to enable the service. More: Citibank enters the mobile wallet space, partners with MasterCard to offer Citi Pay The collaboration between Mastercard and Oracle, which offers software services for a lot of institutions, will allow for simpler transactions on the merchant side, while preventing the need for vendors to build two separate payment solutions for in-store and online operations with Mastercard Payment Gateway Services. “Oracle has the ability to bring this offering of Qkr! already integrated into their offering to the hundreds of thousands of merchants they have within their platform,” Kiki Del Valle, senior vice president at Mastercard, told Digital Trends. Qkr! will launch in Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, and the U.S. over the course of the year, where customers will be able to pay for supplies and fees at schools, make payments at gas stations, parking lots, stadiums, vending machines, and more. Mastercard and Oracle are working with partners such as Carluccio’s Wagamama, Young & Co.’s Brewery, and Geronimo Pubs to let customers order additional items during meals, pay at the table, and split the bill. More: PayPal inks agreement with MasterCard allowing users to make mobile payments “It’s about being able to drive a smart engagement that can help streamline some of the tasks that servers or associates at a restaurant may have and help expedite the service in the way the consumers want to engage with any particular brand,” Del Valle said. Qkr! accepts all major credit and debit cards, and consumers can register more than one card.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 05:48PM
0 Comments
http://ift.tt/2lLe8zt
Alcatel’s A5 brings Moto Mod-like replaceable covers to budget smartphones http://ift.tt/2m1aYIs Alcatel’s retiring its Pop and Pixi lineup of smartphones for a new moniker — the A and U series. The company announced three new smartphones and a 2-in-1 Windows device at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and they’re all unsurprisingly aimed at the budget market. Of the three smartphones, the A5 is the most unique because it comes with a myriad of accessories that enhance the user experience. The A3 and the U5 don’t really bring anything new to the table, and the Plus 12 Windows 2-in-1 is a larger variant of last year’s Plus 10. More: BlackBerry KeyOne: Our first take Alcatel A5Alcatel’s 5.2-inch A5 essentially brings Motorola’s Moto Mods to budget devices, though perhaps in not the simplest fashion. The A5 offers sub-$50 replaceable backs, some of which are purely cosmetic, but others offer more uses. For example, there’s a speaker with a kickstand you can attach to the back of the A5, as well as a battery pack that doubles the phone’s battery life. It’s almost exactly similar to Motorola’s Moto Mod launch, which offered a JBL speaker mod as well as a battery pack mod, and more. But Motorola’s mods were separate accessories that magnetically snapped to the phone. The plastic backs for the A5 are literally the back of the smartphone — you can’t just take one off as you’ll have to replace it with something. Taking them off is like taking off the back of a phone with a removeable battery. The highlight Alcatel is touting is the LED, an accessory that covers the back of the A5 with colorful LEDs. Using various apps, you can light up the back of the A5 with different patterns and colors to match your mood. Or you can even use the camera to automatically pick three colors of your outfit or whatever you point at to change the phone’s wallpaper and app icon colors to match. More: Did you click ‘Always’ and wish you could take it back? Here’s how to reset default apps in Android The LED back also lights up with the icon and matching color of select apps when you get a notification from them, like Facebook or Twitter. If you’re playing music, you can have the lights dance to your tunes. The phone itself only has a 720-pixel resilution, and it’s powered by MediaTek’s 6753 with 2GB of RAM. It has a 2,800mAh battery that charges via the MicroUSB port, and you’ll only find 16GB of internal storage, though there’s support for a MicroSD card. The rear camera only has 8 megapixels with electronic image stabilization, and the front is packed with 5, though it uses a wide-angle lens. Unfortunately, the A5 only runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It’s the only smartphone in this list that’s likely coming to the U.S. We don’t have any pricing or availability details yet. Alcatel A3The A3’s distinct feature is the fingerprint’s sensor ability to add various fingerprints to launch apps from the app screen — something a lot of smartphones can do these days. The 5-inch HD device is powered by MediaTek’s 6737 processor with 1.5GB of RAM. Again, you’ll find 16GB of internal storage with a MicroSD card slot that allows for more, and a smaller 2,460mAh battery that charges via MicroUSB. It also runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The 13-megapixel rear camera is overshadowed by a 5-megapixel front camera that offers better features, such as the capability to capture a selfie with a tap on the fingerprint sensor (which is on the back.) Alcatel U5The 5-inch U5 is the runt of the litter of smartphones from Alcatel today. It has some of the selfie camera functionality of the A3, but it’s powered by MediaTek 6737M processor with 1GB of RAM. It only has 8GB of internal storage with MicroSD card support, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and a 2,050mAh battery. It has a 2 megapixel front camera and a 5 megapixel rear one. More: Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and Nokia 3: Our first take Pricing and availability for the A3 and U5 were not disclosed yet, but they will not be coming to the U.S. Alcatel Plus 12If you’re in need of a low-cost, low-powered Windows 10 2-in-1, the Alcatel Plus 12 may be a decent option that offers 4G LTE connectivity. It features a 11.6-inch 1,080-pixel resolution display, and it’s powered by an Intel Celeron N3350. You’ll find 4GB of RAM, as well as 64GB of internal storage with an embedded 32GB MicroSD card. There’s a 5-megapixel front camera, and the tablet has a 6,900mAh battery. It charges via a USB Type-C port, and there’s a fingerprint sensor that’s compatible with Windows Hello. The tablet laptop hybrid features a detachable 4G LTE keyboard that also doubles as a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 15 devices. It has a 2,850mAh battery, and a Qualcomm MDM9207 chipset. We’ll update this post when we learn more about pricing and availability.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 05:48PM
http://ift.tt/2lpFXuf
Lenovo Yoga 720: Our first take http://ift.tt/2lWu1Ua Lenovo announced a veritable trove of tablets and laptops at Mobile World Congress 2017. First up were the 13-inch and 15-inch Yoga 720, the newest laptops in the company’s convertible Yoga series. Next were the mid-range Flex 5 (Yoga 520) and the Miix 320 2-in-1 device, and lastly two tablets — the Tab 4 — designed for kids in mind. We had a chance to check out a particularly promising machine, the 13-inch Yoga 720, at a preview event in Barcelona. We’ll have to spend more time with it to formulate a final opinion, but we came away generally impressed. More: The best products of 2016: Computing Lenovo’s 2-in-1 Yoga devices have historically featured a proprietary “watchband hinge,” and the 13-inch Yoga 720 is no different. Whether the screen’s oriented in a “V” shape, angled slightly upward, or tucked securely under the keyboard, it’s locked in place securely, but never so tightly that it’s difficult to adjust. Lenovo says the 13-inch Yoga 720 is 13 percent light and 17 percent thinner than last year’s Yoga, and at 14.33mm and 2.9lbs, and it certainly feels like it. But perhaps the most striking thing about the Yoga 720 is its IPS screen, which boasts ultra-narrow bezels and a resolution of up to 4K Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160). Its crisp and vibrant from most angles, if a little prone to glare. And the bezels nearly match the thinness of the Dell XPS 13’s Infinity Display, an impressive feat of engineering. Despite its compactness, the Yoga 720 manages to pack plenty of ports and components into its petite frame. It has a Thunderbolt Type-C port, a USB 3.0 port, a microphone/headphone 3.5mm combo port, and supports Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi 802.11ac. There’s a 720p HD camera onboard, plus up to 512GB of SSD storage or a 1TB HHD. A fingerprint sensor sports Microsoft’s Windows Hello authentication in Windows 10, which lets you unlock your computer without having to enter a password. And stereo JBL speakers tuned with Dolby’s Audio Premium software supply the Yoga 720’s sound. More: Lenovo Yoga 910 review Lenovo didn’t skimp on any of the Yoga 720’s other hardware. The 2-in-1 is compatible with Lenovo’s PC stylus, the Active Pen, in Windows Ink and other programs that support capacitive drawing tools. But keyboard traditionalists needn’t be disappointed. The Yoga 720’s keys are responsive and spacious, and while they don’t have much travel, the keys’ rounded indentations make pecking out paragraphs more comfortable than might be expected. The same can be said of the Yoga 720’s touchpad. It doesn’t measure as wide as, say, Apple’s new plus-sized MacBook Pro touchpad, but it’s a Precision Touchpad, meaning it means it can work with all of Windows 10’s touchpad features. It’s responsive to both single- and two-finger gestures and, like the touchpad on the Yoga 910, its tactile click buttons are satisfyingly springy to the touch. The top-of-the-line Yoga 720 configuration boasts a 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor, integrated Intel 620 graphics (a discrete GeForce GTX 1050 in the 15-inch model), and 8GB of DDR4 RAM (16GB in the 15-inch), which is more than enough processing power to plow through basic tasks. In our brief time with the Yoga 720, Microsoft Word launched without stutter or hesitation, and webpages loaded almost instantly. We’ll have to run the Yoga 720 through its paces to find out how it compares to the competition, but our initial impressions are quite good. More: Dell Inspiron 13 7000 2-in-1 (2016) review Despite the Yoga 720’s high-end hardware, it’s a power-sipping champ. Lenovo estimates that the Full HD model’s battery will last nine hours on a charge, while the Ultra HD manages about eight hours. The Yoga 13-inch ships in platinum silver, iron grey, and copper, and starts at $860. It’s expected to launch in several territories as soon as April. Lenovo’s Yoga series may be considered the definitive 2-in-1, but that’s not to imply it doesn’t have competition. The LG Gram series and Dell’s XPS 13 best the Yoga 720 it in thinness, and the XPS 13 lasts several hours longer on a charge. The HP Spectre x360 and Acer Spin 7, meanwhile, are measurably more compact. But the Yoga 720’s high-resolution screen and affordable price point are tough to beat. A great keyboard, responsive touchpad, and speedy processor are icing on the cake. Highs
Lows
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 05:48PM
http://ift.tt/2m0XWuR
Vkansee demos its under-glass fingerprint sensor on a Lenovo laptop http://ift.tt/2mkQ6fV The next step for fingerprint sensors on smartphones is for them to sit under the glass, and that’s rumored to be a feature on Apple’s next iPhone. Vkansee, a startup in New York, has already patented an under-glass optical fingerprint sensor — but the company is utilizing it first with Windows laptops. At Mobile World Congress, the startup is demoing its prototype optical fingerprint reader on a Lenovo laptop utilizing Windows Hello, Microsoft’s face, fingerprint, or iris recognizing software that enables secure sign-in into your computer. More: Samsung Flow app to let you use phone’s fingerprint sensor to log into Windows There are varying types of fingerprint sensors, but the most common ones found on smartphones today are capacitive scanners, which use electrical currents to collect data about a fingerprint. Vkansee president Jason Chaikin told Digital Trends that capacitive scanners are “great,” as they are cheap, fit into phones well, and consume very little power. So why do manufacturers want to ditch them? Smartphone design. Manufacturers always need to cut a hole because it’s incredibly difficult to have a capacitive sensor under glass — they would need to etch the glass to attempt to put the sensor underneath. Optical scanners have been around for a long time, but until now they have been big and bulky — they’re the sort of scanners used at border crossings and for background checks. “A small light flashes through glass and it goes through a lens,” Chaikin said. “An optical sensor is a fixed, focal-length camera that captures a picture of your fingerprint.” More: Apple was just granted a patent for a touchscreen that reads fingerprints Vkansee’s optical sensor can read through 2mm of glass, making it optimal to be embedded under a smartphone’s glass display. Synaptics also announced an optical fingerprint-sensor for smartphones last year. Vkansee’s testing its prototype on a Lenovo laptop, and the company claims its “high-resolution sensors are ultra-thin, anti-spoof, water- and sweat-resistant, and read fingerprints at a resolution up to 2,000 pixels per inch.” The company said its evaluation kits are in testing with various manufacturers, and last year it announced a software licensing partnership with Precise Biometrics, a fingerprint software company that offers fingerprint matching algorithms to the likes of Huawei, Google, Xiaomi, Lenovo, LG, and more. Chaikin said Vkansee’s technology will debut in laptops this year, and likely on mobile devices at a later time.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 03:55PM
http://ift.tt/2lKCw4c
DT Daily MWC Day Zero: LG G6, Huawei P10, Moto G5 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 http://ift.tt/2lph1TV The sun was out in Barcelona, Spain, shining on the many companies holding press conferences at Mobile World Congress today. While the show itself opens its doors on Monday morning, most of the major new releases have been revealed, which means we have new smartphones from LG, Huawei, and Motorola. Samsung is also at MWC 2017, but it hasn’t brought the Galaxy S8, and instead came with a new tablet. LG G6LG launched the LG G6 and pulled off a miracle with the slick new device, because the screen may be large at 5.7-inches and boast a unique 18:9 wide aspect ratio, but the phone itself is really compact. This means LG could have fun with the user interface, and it added clever new camera modes so you can see previews of shots you’ve taken and use an Instagram-ready square-picture mode. LG never forgets the camera itself, either, and both have wide-angle lenses. We’re waiting for U.S. launch dates, but it won’t be long. More: Huawei Watch 2: Our First Take Huawei P10Huawei is back after impressing us with the Mate 9 at the beginning of the year, this time with the beautiful P10. It has a dual-lens camera co-developed with Leica on the back, designed for taking amazing pictures of people, with a clever new portrait mode. Leica has also worked on the selfie camera, so pictures of yourself will also look great, plus the phone’s design really stands out thanks to a range of stunning colors. A U.S. release isn’t in the cards, though, and prices start at 650 euros in Europe. Moto G5 and G5 PlusMWC isn’t only about expensive phones. Lenovo’s Moto brand has two Android 7.0 Nougat phones that could end up costing you only $230. The G5 Plus is the one coming to the U.S., and it has a 5.2-inch screen with a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, and a 12-megapixel camera; all wrapped in a smooth plastic body. It’s coming out at the beginning of March. More: Nokia’s back with three new phones, and one old-new phone Samsung Galaxy Tab S3If Samsung didn’t bring the Galaxy S8 to Mobile World Congress, what did it show off? It’s the Galaxy Tab S3 tablet, and it’s an alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to buy an iPad Pro. Made from glass and metal, it has a 10-inch AMOLED screen with HDR, for showing really high contrast video. An S Pen stylus is included, and a keyboard accessory is available, but pricing and the release date are a mystery for now. The show begins properly tomorrow, and we’ll be back with all the latest news, so join us then.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 01:33PM
http://ift.tt/2lpjzBx
The pocket-sized Kado Wallet is the world’s thinnest phone charger http://ift.tt/2mtOYUm Battery life is still a major bugbear for most smartphone owners. What do you when you don’t have a charger with you? Do you lug around a portable battery pack? Though they’re definitely getting sleeker and more compact, you may prefer something smaller still. The Kado Wallet is easily the slimmest phone charger we’ve ever seen. It’s so svelte, in fact, that you can slot it into your wallet. There are two parts to this charger. One has fold-out prongs, so it can be plugged into a standard power outlet. The other has a coiled cable that you can pull out to plug into your phone. It feels about the thickness of three credit cards, and it’s very light. More: The best portable battery chargers The Kado Wallet comes with a 2-foot-long Lightning, MicroUSB, or USB Type-C cable built in, but that’s not all, because you can also slide the charger apart in the middle to reveal a USB connection that allows you to plug it into a laptop or computer for data transfer. The maximum power output is 10 watts, so the charger will support some of the latest quick charge capabilities. The Kado Wallet will be available this summer and is set to be priced around $40 to $50. It’s not the only slimmed-down charger Kado has been working on. The company is focused on making charging easier and more portable. “We call it the vicious cycle of mobile immobility, because we are always looking to increase our mobility, and in order to do so we increase the charger speed, but this increases the charger size,” Kado co-CEO Itay Hasid told Digital Trends. “We want to create truly portable solutions to keep your gadgets charged.” Kado has also developed a portable wall charger for your laptops and tablets. The Kado Sleeve is the width of a pencil and sports two USB ports at one end. Fold it in half and you’ll reveal the prongs to plug into a standard wall outlet. It’s a 70-watt charger and can be used to charge up two devices simultaneously. It’s also expected to go on sale this summer and it will cost around $100. These slim chargers are impressive, but what we’d really like to see is a portable charger with a built-in battery that could fit in our wallets. According to Kado’s Co-CEO, Itay Hasid, it’s in the works. We’ll keep you posted.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 01:33PM
http://ift.tt/2lKFXb3
The Invoxia NX 200 desk phone is an ode to a technologically handicapped past http://ift.tt/2m0iV0G If you’re the kind of person who can’t stand sacrificing a desk phone for something mobile, or if you have an inexplicable affection for cubical farms of the early 2000s, then NVX 200 is the product you’ve been searching for. It’s a digital Bluetooth desk phone that offers an “optimized” and “simplified” user experience — presumably because, you know, the calling function on smartphones these days is way too cumbersome to fiddle around with. Invoxia’s NVX 200 “offers the best of unified communication” with the “comfort” and “style” of a desk phone, according to the company’s press release. It takes calls in hands-free mode just like any old smartphone. Or, if you’d like to feel especially anchored to your desk, you can switch to the NX 200’s handset. More: Invoxia’s stylish desktop phone puts your mobile device to work The benefits of the NVX ostensibly include high quality sound, conferences of up to five people, apps like Skype and Hangouts, and programmable speed dial keys. But those aren’t exactly novel. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and others have adopted or are in the process of adopting voice-over-LTE — VoLTE, for short — that sound noticeably clearer and better than your average landline. The iPhone and major mobile networks have supported five-way conference calling as far back as 2008. And it goes without saying that Skype and speed dial have been smartphone hallmarks for nearly a decade. There’s potentially something of real value to Invoxia’s Vivo Acoustic software, which uses a combination of far-field microphones and software to pick up speech from up to 16 feet away. And there’s the the NVX 200’s standalone mode, which enables it to function as a phone without the need for Wi-Fi or Ethernet connectivity. But it’s hard to argue any of those features justify the NX 200’s $250 asking price. More: Forgot your phone charger at home? This desk can help “In a time when Slack, Workplace by Facebook, and other unified communication networks triumph, the way companies communicate is evolving rapidly towards more mobility,” an Invoxia spokesperson said. “An entire new ecosystem needs to be created and peripheral devices should evolve accordingly to optimize unified communication.” The firm may have a point about “ecosystems” better suited to modern workplaces, and those may well be coming. Samsung, for example, is reportedly developing a smartphone dock that switches to a desktop interface when plugged into a monitor. Motorola’s Moto Z accessory lineup, meanwhile, includes a pico projector that can throw video calls, text messages, and PowerPoint presentations onto any wall. The NX 200, then, is ultimately a solution in search of a problem. Its appeal is predicated upon its familiarity, not its usefulness, and we’d have to conclude that there are much better ways to spend $250. More: Got a dead-end job? You can run in circles with this hamster wheel desk But if the marketing’s nostalgia moves you, the NX 200 is available now from Amazon and other internet retailers.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 01:05PM
http://ift.tt/2mtzSxN
Even Putin wouldn’t poo-poo this posh pop-up cabin overlooking Pirogovo Lake http://ift.tt/2mkzkh2 Located just outside of Moscow, Russian architecture firm Bio Architects took just 10 days to build an innovative prefabricated cabin nestled in the serene forests surrounding Pirogovo Lake. By leaning heavily on a modular design, the company built much of the cabin in Kazan, Russia — including installing the fixtures, furniture, trim, and utilities — prior to shipping the home to the site for installation. The finished product is equal parts stunning weekend getaway and cozy Russian cabin. More: Zen and tranquility ripple through this artistic installation of wood pallets What makes the cabin especially appealing is its focus on minimalism. As touched on above, the abode sits among the forested area around Pirogovo Lake and is a bonafide sight for sore eyes. Since it sits nicely against its backdrop, it almost takes on the appearance of being a physical part of the forest. Though it features metal roofing — to help the owners easily rid it of fallen leaves and pine needles — its dark color coupled with what appears to be a maple wooden exterior allows it to rest symbiotically with the environment. “Most of the individual decisions are based on a simple technology and inexpensive materials, so we managed to follow one of the basic principles of DublDom company — quality of architecture at an affordable pricing,” Bio Architects wrote. “The front facade with the maximum number of glazing was dictated by location of the house on the site. All the technical and utility rooms are located along the rear facade, and the children’s room, office, main entrance and the living room with fireplace look at the site with a wonderful view on the water.” Featuring a host of floor-to-ceiling windows which look out to the neighboring forest, the home receives an ample amount of natural light during the day. Inside, the minimalist aesthetic remains front and center as the furniture and appliances do little to take away from the gorgeous wooden interior. White wooden cabinets flanked by white-finished appliances allow the interior to remain bright even if it’s not particularly pleasant outside. This lakeside residence is the client’s second such home built by Bio Architects, though what sets this apart from the first one is the fact it took 10 days to build onsite.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 11:47AM
http://ift.tt/2l12Fg6
Naughty Dog knows “nothing” about R-rated ‘Uncharted’ movie script http://ift.tt/2lKhOS0 It seems that the team behind the Uncharted movie isn’t talking to video game studio Naughty Dog. In a Twitter exchange, Uncharted series writer Neil Druckmann confirmed that he, nor the studio, has had any contact with the writer for the Uncharted movie who has penned a rated-R script. More: ‘The Grey’ screenwriter latest in long list of scribes to tackle ‘Uncharted’ movie In an interview with ComingSoon, Uncharted movie writer Joe Carnahan (The A-Team, The Grey) discussed his recently finished script. “When I wrote Uncharted, I didn’t spare the rod. I wrote it the way the video game is. They swear in the game, they’re kinda foul-mouthed and I kept all that stuff intact and I definitely didn’t write it as a PG-13 movie, I wrote it the way that movie should be written,” said Carnahan. But it was Carnahan’s interview with Collider that prompted Druckmann to respond. “I’m very happy with the script, and listen it was important that I got Amy Hennig’s approval, her and Nolan North, and what I’ve heard is the Naughty Dog guys are really happy with it. But who knows? That could be like Donald Trump hearing something; that may not be true at all,” said Carnahan. Turns out it wasn’t true at all as per Druckmann on Twitter.
Regardless of Druckmann’s response, according to Carnahan, Sony seems to be happy with the new script. “The script went in, the script got huge, it got a big round of applause at Sony, they were very, very happy with it,” Carnahan told Collider. Usually movie studios are hesitant to make R-rated movies as PG-13 movies tend to sell better at the box office. “The Matrix movies were all R-rated. I never understood the metric for, ‘This will make X-amount more if it were PG-13.’ PG-13 in a lot of ways is a cop out, and I think its been exposed as such,” Carnahan told ComingSoon. All the Uncharted games have received Teen ratings. If Sony does release an Uncharted movie, Carnahan wants to ensure that its action sequences are just as crazy as in the games. “No, they [Sony] let me kinda do my thing. I probably wrote four of the biggest, f***in’ craziest action sequences I think I’ve ever written in that movie. I used the Uncharted games as a template but not using any one specifically, because those sequences have already been done beautifully. There’s no point in just transposing them to film, you’ve gotta come up with new sh*t, so that’s what I did. It was a great challenge but it was a lot of fun.” At the moment, there’s no set release date for the Uncharted movie, but filming is expected to begin this Spring.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 10:58AM
http://ift.tt/2lKeXZl
Sequel to ‘Shadow of Mordor’ accidentally leaked by Target http://ift.tt/2lK7NUE Get excited Lord of the Rings fans, a sequel to one of the best games in the series may just have been leaked. Big box retailer Target accidentally updated its website with a new listing for Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. The listing has since been taken down. Very little is currently known of the game as it has yet to be officially announced. Surprisingly, the game doesn’t look like it’s too far off as the listing shows a release date for Aug. 22. And it looks like a “Gold Edition” will also be in the works, including multiple expansion packs. According to the leak, the Gold Edition will include four expansion packs as well as some in-game currency. The new expansions gives players the ability to play with new characters and abilities, and will include new side missions and enemies. It seems that the nemesis system from the first game will also be returning. It makes sense, as many critics pointed to it as one of the major innovations the game brought to the table. More: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Review The first game, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor surprised critics and gamers for bringing a fresh spin to the Lord of the Rings franchise. Many felt that it translated the gameplay and feel of the Batman: Arkham Knight series to J.R.R. Tolkein’s fantasy world. While the combat wasn’t perfect, and being able to run away from any battle did kill some of the immersion, overall the game was great. Currently the game sits at an 84 on Metacritic. Considering the game has already leaked, it’s very likely that an official announcement will be coming soon. If the information is correct, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is set to launch on Aug. 22 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and most likely PC. The leak did not indicate if the game would be coming for the Nintendo Switch.
Digital Trends via Digital Trends http://ift.tt/mG1NBn February 26, 2017 at 10:29AM |
Categories
All
Archives
October 2020
|